Breakers (often referred to as breaker fluids) are often used in the oil or gas field for decreasing the viscosity of oilfield fracturing fluids after the fracturing is completed. While breakers that reduce viscosity in downhole operations are available, further improvements in performance are desired. For example, a breaker fluid that could provide a controlled rate of viscosity decay would be of considerable advantage.
Breakers can be mixed with the fracturing fluid, or added later as needed. It is preferable to mix the breaker (fluid) with the fracturing fluid; however, it is disadvantageous to mix some of the known breakers with the fracturing fluid. Also, some breakers, particularly bleach, corrode metal pipe, which is normally used in drilling, workover, and completion operations. It would be especially advantageous if the breaker fluid in addition to providing a controlled rate of viscosity decay, would cause minimal corrosion of metal pipes, and could be mixed with the fracturing fluid.